Breastfeeding – Smell and Spraying in public and introducing a bottle

1: All of my clothes and bed smell of a sweet breast milk smell where we have spilt so much during feeds. The smell was up my nose so much that I even thought that I could smell it, when I was hanging out my freshly washed clothes on the line and airer. I actually quite like the smell especially my little boys breath after a feed, it smells like milk bottle sweets 😍. The problem is like any smell it starts to annoy you when you cant get away from it. I started to use dettol washing liquid to ensure my clothes were completely fresh and this seems to have rid the smell from my washing.

Also my little boy tends to be alot more efficient at feeding now so he doesnt spill as much unless we are laying down feeding and then the last bit of milk gets stored in a cheek as he falls asleep and without fail gets dribbled all over the bed sheets, however with experience i have now learned to add a folded over muslin underneath his head and my boob to catch it. #winninggoals

2: At the start of my journey and for the initial 3 months or so I regularly sprayed from one boob no matter where I was, especially when my little boy was going through a fussy stage and regularly pulling off. Que a number of embarrassing moments where his face and my clothes were drenched in milk – all you can do in these situations is laugh it off and embrace it. However i was advised by the breastfeeding consultant as i was squirting her in the face and increasingly going red that this was due to being relaxed and my oxytocin was high – i thought i wish i knew how to be stressed and rid the oxytocin 😂

3:The spraying accompanied with a fidget who is constantly either slapping you in the face or grabbing and pulling your bottom lip adds to the joys of feeding. Then just when you think you have mastered it, along comes distractions which means that you are constantly battling to keep your baby feeding and stop looking around. This i am still trying to overcome and have asked my husband to stop talking, moving, breathing when he is in bed with us in the morning trying to feed. For the rest of the day I am housebond often, feeding in the nursery with white noise on the loudest setting, the blinds drawn so sitting in darkness and giving him a rabbit comforter that is consistantly thrown around with his windmill arm including a constant bashing in my face that i am too worried to stop incase it interupts his feeding. (I will update in a future blog how this goes as i am informed that this is another phase that we will overcome.)

4: You are informed do not introduce a bottle or dummy before 6 weeks, what they fail to tell you is that this will make introducing a bottle near on impossible at a later stage. I have become very lazy as preparing bottles and therefore even on the days that i want to get him to take a bottle i fail miserably as its too easy to just wack a boob out.

5: On a hot day feeding is like holding an extra hot waterbottle against you and my little boy feeds more often to hydrate so you are lucky to hold them continuously and gain a delighful baby shaped sweat patch in most of your attire by 9am #babyshapedsweatpatch #newdesignidea #couldbecomefashionableoneday #heatwave

6: Nightfeeds this is fab cuddletime when you are in a routine and i personally love them when im not to tired to appreciate them. The rest of the time its down to you and even if you have a willing husband there is limited they can do when the baby wakes hungry in the night

7: The little smiles, giggles and babbles that your baby has with you mid and post feed are just adorable and melt your heart regularly

8: I have a thirst like I have never known the minute that he latches on and without fail always forget to acquire an organised glass/ bottle or tank of water. Its ok tho as now my husband goes into autopilot when he is home and comes in like a knight in shining armour with the fanfair and everything with a pint of water most feeds. (note i am unable to make too much of a fuss incase the little tyke knows that he is there and stops feeding)

9: Breastfeeding sick smells so much better than formula sick. Although im not a huge fan of either.

10: The bras you can buy may not be the prettiest but they are comfy and you can always get a bap out. ive also been lucky enough to have to sleep in a bra every night since he was born. with the odd night that he has decided to sleep longer waking in pools of leaky milk and with tender engorged breasts.

There are other pros and cons that I am just not able to think of right now but I can tell you that I regularly love and hate our journey. It has been hard and i have taken a couple of knocks along the way but ultimately i have loved it and wouldnt change it for the world. My boobs may look like droopy spaniel ears now but I look at my happy little chap and can see what it was all for. Now we are enduring our transition to solids and the consideration of ending our journey so that I can go back to work and know that he is feeding well.

Almost forgot … breastmilk lollys! they keep baby cool, help with teething pain and help to get milk into baby when being fussy.